Gas prices continue their fall

[phantom power]

CAMARILLO, Calif. - The average price of regular gasoline in the United States has dropped more than 11 cents over a three-week period to $2.72.

That's according to the national Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday.

Analyst Trilby Lundberg says the average price for a gallon of mid-grade was $2.86. Premium was at $2.97.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37672569/ns/business-oil_and_energy/

[tom_paine]

1. More Social Engineering from our Unregulated Corporate Masters

I assume this phony drop is preperatory to the now-customary pre-even-year-election Gasoline Price Manipulation, where the price will rise to $3 to aid the Repugs in November (same way they dropped gas prices in 2006 and 2008 to aid the Repugs when they were in power).

That's what a nation gets when it frees it's Aristocracy from any semblence of regulation or accountability.

Our industries are corrupt to the core, and getting worse.

Anyway, just so you know what's coming.

[phantom power]

2. My take on cheap gasoline and oil is that it's due to our continued economic suck.

You know, like I'm an expert.

But really, unemployment is in the high teens, whatever the masters of the universe want us to believe about our Splendid Imminent Recovery. Demand is still down.

[depakid]

4. Another angle on that:

Vehicle registrations drop in Portland area, ripple throughout Oregon

Southeast Portland resident Matthew Bowers shed his 1990 Acura Legend last year, tired of maintaining a car used so rarely that it sometimes wouldn't start.

In going auto-free in 2009, the Sacramento native contributed to the largest drop in registered vehicles in recent state history, one-third of which occurred in Multnomah County. Statewide, nearly every county saw decreases, totaling 32,334 fewer registered passenger vehicles in 2009 than in 2008.

"Before, I'd been working out in Hillsboro, so I needed a car. But then I got a job downtown," Bowers, 29, said on his cell phone while walking home from work. "Driving to work wasn't really necessary, and it wouldn't have made much sense anyway."

Transportation officials can't pinpoint the exact reasons for the dip but say the global recession probably has something to do with it.

Nationally, auto dealers sold a record low in new inventory last year: slightly more than 10 million new autos and trucks versus 16 million to 17 million every year for most of the decade, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.

In Oregon, the auto association reports, 125,000 new vehicles were registered in 2008, down from nearly 163,000 in 2007 and more than 170,000 in 2006.

The decrease in vehicle registrations makes sense to Marie Dodds, a spokeswoman for AAA Oregon/Idaho.

"Two years ago, we went through record high (gas) prices," she said, "and then right after that, we saw the economy come crashing down, so I think there are fewer cars on the road. Who knows: Maybe people still have their cars but aren't driving them."

David House, a spokesman with Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services, said he's careful not to read too much into the statistics -- saying only that the decline is probably related to the economy, fewer auto renewals and fewer new car buys.

Still, he said it's noteworthy that registrations in Oregon never stopped climbing before, even after the 2002 recession. The numbers just went up at a slower rate.

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/vehicle_registrations_drop_in.html#incart_hbx

[shraby]

3. Unusual to say the least because gas prices have

historically been raised at the end of May for the coming summer vacation season. I don't think I can recall a year that the didn't raise and I've been around a long time.

[Rageneau]

5. The reason is obvious: Big Oil doesn't want us getting any madder than we already are.

The Oil industry almost(?) always raises prices at this time of the year. But each year, every time they jack the price up, we poor serfs start threatening to support renewable energy and asking for investigations into the Oil Industry's obscene profits. IOW, we complain. But that's usually all; we do, so the Oil companiespay us no attention.

The same standard price increase WOULD have happened this year except for the BP disaster. Thanks to it, the Oil Industry currently knows better than to arbitrarily raise prices at a time when support for more drilling is at a new low and support for investing in re-newables is at an all-time high.

Thus, even though there is demonstrably LESS oil coming to market these days (since offshore drilling has stopped and since many millions of barrels are being wasted, the price at the pump is keeping stable or even dropping.

That ain't a result of supply and demand; that's the result of manipulation and profiteering.

[pscot]

6. We have a winner!

n/t

[tom_paine]

7. Just like after 9/11- the same "water is flowing uphill" of prices going DOWN after a catastrophe

Social Engineering by Unregulated Aristocratic Criminals then, too.